GStwin.com GS500 Message Forum

Main Area => General GS500 Discussion => Topic started by: Watevaman on December 04, 2013, 09:46:09 AM

Title: Heated gear and the GS500: what wattage to go for?
Post by: Watevaman on December 04, 2013, 09:46:09 AM
 So I'm thinking about picking up some winter gear so I can ride a little more comfortably when it's cold out. Been looking at Firstgear's stuff and have decided if I go for it I'll get a jacket liner and a glove liner plus the controller thing. What I don't know about is the jacket liner, as there are both a 65 and 90 watt version. From what I understand, too much draw isn't good for the bike and certain motorcycles have better capability to run accessories than others. Now I'm not running anything aftermarket besides LEDs in the dash+gauges so I've still got a stock wattage headlight bulb, stock wattage turn signals, etc. Anyone know if I'd be safe to run the 90W liner along with the 22W (11W in each) glove liners?
Title: Re: Heated gear and the GS500: what wattage to go for?
Post by: åsaka on December 04, 2013, 11:39:34 AM
Now running with H4 100/80 Watt and it provides just enough light. Thinking about going over to LED lamp / diode in other places. Blue film over the headlight glass.

[attachment deleted by admin]
Title: Re: Heated gear and the GS500: what wattage to go for?
Post by: fetor56 on December 04, 2013, 03:53:31 PM
112W seems a little excessive.Best way to find out though (before u purchase) is to run a combination of anything 12V at about 112W & see how the electrical system copes....if the battery goes flat from low speed riding that's not a good sign.
Title: Re: Heated gear and the GS500: what wattage to go for?
Post by: bigfatcat on December 05, 2013, 05:20:56 PM
I did a rough calculation a couple years ago that indicated that the gs has about 50 watts as reserve once the battery is fully re-charged after a start ... not much maybe enough for a heated glove ...

If you do install heated gear, then you should also install a voltmeter so you can keep an eye on what the charging system is doing while you ride.
Title: Re: Heated gear and the GS500: what wattage to go for?
Post by: Badot on December 05, 2013, 09:52:15 PM
Quote from: bigfatcat on December 05, 2013, 05:20:56 PM
I did a rough calculation a couple years ago that indicated that the gs has about 50 watts as reserve once the battery is fully re-charged after a start ... not much maybe enough for a heated glove ...

If you do install heated gear, then you should also install a voltmeter so you can keep an eye on what the charging system is doing while you ride.

Next question becomes how much do you free up per each dash, signal, and brake light switched to LED?
Title: Re: Heated gear and the GS500: what wattage to go for?
Post by: Big Rich on December 05, 2013, 09:55:41 PM
The tail light bulb is a big draw. Two 1157 bulbs drawing 21 watts each (just guessing) replaced by led bulbs that draw practically nothing = huge savings.